A Chekhov Circus

A guide to the short stories of Anton Chekhov

Tag: Adoptive Families

  • No. 12 – Peasant Wives

    Of the hundreds of Chekhov stories I have read, this is the one I have thought back on most often, so astounding are the characterizations, so complete the world created by the writer, and so cruel the lives he describes. The story is complicated, considering how brief it is. The opening pages are presented almost…

  • No. 43 – The Two Volodyas

    A portrait of an impulsive young woman, Sofya Lvovna, who has married a dashing playboy many years older than her. The two Volodyas of the title are Vladimir Nikititch, otherwise known as Colonel Yagitch, Sofya’s 50-something husband, and Vladimir Mihalovitch, her childhood friend and former/lingering crush. (Volodya is a nickname for Vladimir.) Having married Colonel…

  • No. 127 – A Dreary Story

    A retired professor looks back on his life and that of his adoptive daughter.

  • No. 195 – The Black Monk

    Hallucinations of a black monk disturb the life of an ambitious man.